Six Dysfunctional Family Behaviors in Doing Time on Maple Drive
This paper examines six dysfunctional family behaviors portrayed in the 1992 television film Doing Time on Maple Drive, directed by Ken Olin. Using the film's characters as case studies, the paper identifies and analyzes patterns including lack of empathy, denial, idealization, differential treatment of family members, disregard for personal boundaries, and inability to resolve conflict. Each behavior is illustrated through specific character interactions, particularly centering on the controlling father Phil, his alcoholic eldest son Tim, his closeted gay son Matt, and his daughter Karen. Together, these patterns paint a picture of a family whose outward appearance of perfection masks deep emotional dysfunction.
- Introduction: A Family That Is Not So Perfect: Phil's lack of empathy drives family dysfunction
- Denial: Family denies Matt's sexuality and Tim's illness
- Idealization: Matt bears impossible expectations as the good son
- Treating Family Members Differently: Gender shapes unequal treatment of each child
- Lack of Respect for Boundaries: Phil controls adult children as if they were young
- Inability to Resolve Conflict: Screaming and avoidance replace healthy communication
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What makes this paper effective
- It uses a clear, structured framework — each section is devoted to a single named dysfunction — making the analysis easy to follow and ensuring no concept is conflated with another.
- It grounds every abstract behavioral concept in specific character examples from the film, avoiding vague generalizations and keeping the analysis anchored in textual evidence.
- The paper maintains a consistent analytical voice throughout, balancing film summary with interpretive commentary without simply retelling the plot.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied conceptual analysis: it takes established ideas from family systems theory — such as idealization, enmeshment, and boundary violation — and maps them onto a primary text (the film) systematically. This technique shows the writer's ability to use a theoretical lens without being driven entirely by plot summary.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an introductory section that introduces both the first dysfunction (lack of empathy) and the family's general context. Five additional sections each address one discrete dysfunction. The conclusion is embedded within the final section rather than standing separately. This tight, list-driven structure suits a short analytical essay and makes each argument immediately identifiable.
Introduction: A Family That Is Not So Perfect
Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992) is the story of a supposedly perfect New England family that is, in reality, far from it. The most notable dysfunctional behavior exhibited in the film is the lack of empathy shown by the father, Phil — a former military man — toward both his children and his wife. Phil refuses to acknowledge his own faults and shows no compassion for his children as they struggle with adulthood. He blames them for their problems while refusing to take responsibility for his own. When he wishes to assert authority over his family, he does so in a bullying manner, at times physically humiliating them through sports.
Other members of the family also display very little empathy toward one another. Tim, the oldest son, is an alcoholic who does not fully appreciate the extent to which his addiction and dropping out of college has affected those around him. Matt, the youngest son, is also emotionally disconnected from the family. Part of this stems from his youth and his internal struggle with his sexuality — adolescence is a period when young people are often so consumed by personal, inner conflicts that they have difficulty recognizing the needs of others. Even so, Matt is engaged to a woman he clearly does not love, a situation that deepens his emotional distance from everyone around him.
Denial
The youngest son, Matthew, is gay. Yet Matt refuses to fully accept this reality: he has brought home a fiancée whom he cannot love, hoping she will provide a cover for his sexuality and convince both his family and himself that he is heterosexual. His parents, in turn, refuse to acknowledge their son's true nature. They also refuse to recognize any role they may have played in their eldest son's alcoholism or his resistance to entering treatment. Denial is a hallmark of dysfunctional family systems, and here it operates at every level. Only at the film's conclusion, when Matt is finally able to be honest and open about his emotions, do the family's emotional barriers begin to come down.
Idealization
One reason Matt struggles so deeply with his sexuality is that his parents have idealized him as the "good" son, in contrast to the "bad" son, Tim. Because Tim is a college dropout and an addict, he is not viewed with compassion or treated as someone suffering from an illness. Instead, he is regarded as innately broken and dysfunctional. At one point, Phil says directly to Tim: "Every time I look at you I thank God I have another son." Karen, the middle child, is also treated differently — her marriage to a man who is out of work is viewed as a mark against him and, by extension, against her. Her husband's desire to be an artist only deepens his family's disapproval, as it conflicts with their ideals of conventional masculinity and financial success. Karen herself struggles with this legacy of idealism, finding it difficult to fully respect her husband because he does not meet the family's definition of "perfect."
Matt, meanwhile, must bear the full weight of his family's expectations: attending a good college, graduating, securing a respectable job, choosing the right fiancée, and raising a family in a conventional way. Because he cannot live up to these idealized standards, he lives a lie, maintaining a facade rather than revealing — or even admitting to himself — who he truly is.
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